There is perhaps no perfect time for community colleges to build new facilities as the pandemic and other factors impact student enrollment. Fall 2020 admission at community colleges dropped 10% from a year earlier, according to National Student Clearinghouse data from December 2020, far outweighing the 1% decline in undergraduates at public and…

This study was carried out within a project to promote health and ecosystem services, 'the benefits people obtain from ecosystems', in preschools in Sweden. The paper applies the concept 'affordance' to capture the functional meaning that children assign to different material aspects of their schoolyards before and after the installation of…

In December 2017, the Smithsonian unveiled a new Strategic Plan. The plan sets goals to help be more collaborative and efficient in work, build and deployment of digital competency, and engage new and more diverse audiences in meaningful ways. The plan also continues to improve facilities maintenance and collections care to be even better stewards…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) play a prominent role in the nation's higher education system. For example, about one-third of African Americans receiving a doctorate in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics received undergraduate degrees from HBCUs. To help HBCUs facing challenges accessing funding for capital…

The Ministry of Educations's goals are to help government achieve the following three commitments to British Columbians: (1) Make life more affordable. British Columbians are counting on government to make their lives easier by containing costs and service fees; (2) Deliver the services that people count on. Government services touch the lives of…

While overall primary school enrollment is high in Benin, there are stark differences between regions. In rural areas, children of poor families often have to help with agricultural activities (e.g. working in fields or with cattle) instead of going to school. The Global Partnership for Education is working with Benin to address one of the…

In March 2014, the Center for an Urban Future documented an array of challenges and vulnerabilities resulting from the New York City's aging infrastructure in their "Caution Ahead" report (see ED555648). And it identified a minimum investment of $47.3 billion over the next five years to bring the city's core infrastructure to a state of…

This Annual Service Plan Report compares the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training's actual results to the expected results identified in the 2017/18-2019/20 "Service Plan" created in September 2017. The last 12 months have been inspiring as government has made postsecondary education and skills training more accessible and…

While there is much we can't predict, there are a few things we know for sure. We know that the population of the U.S. is growing and along with it the enrollment in our K-12 schools. We know that there is a growing need for an educated workforce, affecting the enrollment of colleges and universities nationwide. We know that there is an ongoing…

The average public school building was built around 1968 -- more than 50 years ago -- and the National Center for Education Statistics reports that half of all public schools in the United States need at least one major facility repair. Mary Filardo, Jeffrey Vincent, and Kevin Sullivan explain how poorly maintained school buildings have a negative…

Facilities access is arguably the largest and most persistent challenge facing new and expanding charter schools. Creating a charter facility "incubator" can help solve this challenge. This case study provides an in-depth look at the design and operations of one such incubator, "Building Pathways," a nonprofit that serves as…

A 2014 study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education (ED) found that 53% of public elementary and secondary schools need to spend money on repairs, renovations, and modernizations to put their onsite buildings in good overall condition. The study estimated that the nationwide spending…

With growing knowledge about the effectiveness of collaborative or team-based learning in developing important skill sets among students, the development of collaborative and active learning space (CALS) classrooms has gained increasing momentum in recent years. However, there currently exists a paucity of research evaluating the impact of these…

Active learning, a constructivist approach to learning, can be an effective pedagogical tool. As active learning becomes more ubiquitous and begins to replace some lecture-style content delivery, the built environment should also change. A design case study, "a description of a real artifact or experience that has been intentionally…

Charter schools have always had difficulty finding affordable buildings. In response, charter school supporters have explored many policy and market approaches, ranging from strategies easing access to district facilities to increasing both public and private revenue options for facilities purposes. This paper, produced by the National Charter…